Rick Leslie’s route to a golf career was far from typical. He didn’t grow up at a posh country club, his father wasn’t a golf pro and he didn’t forego traditional high school or college to attend a prestigious golf academy.

Actually, for him golf was kind of an afterthought.

“My whole plan when I came out of high school was to play Major League Baseball,” said Leslie, 47, the director of instruction at The Club at Strawberry Creek. “That was my plan, that was what I was best at. I was a very good shortstop and I went to (UW-Madison) to walk on to the baseball team.”

Leslie, a Milwaukee native, nearly made the Badgers squad in the mid-1980s. He attended a Brewers tryout camp at Milwaukee County Stadium and dazzled several scouts but was ultimately passed over because at 22, he was considered “too old” to be a prospect.

“It just crushed me,” Leslie said. “I had to call my dad (Gene) and say, ‘Dad, I think it’s over.’ ”

After spending 21/2 years at the UW, one of Leslie’s friends convinced him to transfer to Milwaukee School of Engineering to play baseball and golf.

Engineering degree

Leslie also studied engineering in Madison and then Milwaukee because he was good at math. Working several jobs to pay for school, he eventually received his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from MSOE in 1993.

Leslie didn’t give up the baseball bug entirely. He continued playing in the amateur Langsdorf and Land O’Lakes leagues into his early 40s and once hit a home run in an amateur all-star game at County Stadium.

For most of the 1990s, though, Leslie worked various engineering jobs. On May 19, 1999, Leslie reported to work and was told his position was being eliminated. Married for about a year at the time to his wife, Kris, Leslie was at a career crossroads.

“I had to figure out something I could do. I liked engineering, but it wasn’t me,” he said. “I was making pretty good money, but it just wasn’t one of those jobs that you get up in the morning and you want to go do.

“Obviously, that summer I played a lot of golf and I thought, ‘Man, there’s got to be a way that I can get involved in the golf business, make money at it.’ I started doing some research and a couple of buddies were pros. So I asked them what was involved and kind of found out that way.”

Made the call

With his wife’s backing, Leslie decided to become a PGA club professional, even though it meant more hours and a much smaller salary, at least initially.

He passed the pressure-packed playing ability test on his first try in April 2000 with one shot to spare when he played his final nine holes in 1-under par 35. He then served three-year stints at North Hills Country Club in Menomonee Falls and North Shore Country Club in Mequon before arriving in Kenosha in 2006 for Strawberry Creek’s opening.

Leslie said his family, which now includes Josh, 9, and Jenna, 6, is very happy living in the family-friendly Strawberry Creek community.

“We have a great time here. It’s not that typical (stuffy) country club feel,” he said. “Kris is the fitness coordinator here also, so we’re here all the time. Our kids can come here, can use the pool, use the golf course. Just the fact that they have that kind of life now growing up is more important than anything, and it’s all because I’ve gotten into golf.

“My family is living pretty well now because of that decision.”